One of the most anticipated new chairlifts for the 2023-24 season has made its debut.

On Saturday, Mammoth Mountain opened the new Chair 16, also known as the Canyon Express. Chair 16, which opened back in 1994, was replaced this past offseason by a state-of-the-art chairlift.

The new Doppelmayr D-Line six-pack detachable high-speed chairlift is a game changer for the California ski resort. This capacity upgrade, which can fit 25% more guests compared to its predecessor, will help reduce lines at the Canyon Lodge base area. The enclosed top and bottom terminals will help it open quicker during deep storm cycles and windy days. In addition, the chairlift has been realigned slightly to the north to reduce the impact of snow slides from the nearby Avalanche Chutes.

There were some critics of the new chairlift though. Some noted that the off-ramp at the top terminal is pretty steep, leading to riders crashing into each other. While it does look steep, I imagine some more snow will help mellow it out.

Other improvements at Mammoth this season include the continued buildout of the Woolly’s Adventure Summit (which includes the opening of a new mountain coaster), a $5.5 million investment in snowmaking, and an expansion of the bathrooms at the Chair 14 Melt House.

Image Credits: Mammoth Mountain (Peter Morning, Helly Hansen, Smith Optics)

Are you looking to ski or ride this weekend? Ski resorts across the continent are beginning to open up. It should be noted though that the terrain at all of these mountains remains limited, and early-season conditions exist. Here’s a breakdown of what ski resorts will be operating this weekend, and how much terrain and lifts they currently have open.

California

• Mammoth Mountain: Two trails, five lifts.

Canada

• Banff Sunshine Village: One trail, one lift. A hike-to terrain park is also open.
• Lake Louise: Five trails, two lifts.
• Mt. Norquay: Two trails, two lifts.
• Nakiska: Eight trails, two lifts.

• Sommet Saint Sauveur: One trail, one lift.

Colorado

• Arapahoe Basin: One trail, one lift.
• Breckenridge: Two trails, five lifts.
• Eldora: Four trails, one lift.
• Keystone: Five trails, four lifts.
• Loveland: One trail, one lift.
• Vail: Three trails, three lifts.
• Winter Park: Three trails, two lifts.
• Wolf Creek: Two trails, two lifts.

Minnesota

• Andes Tower Hills: Two trails, two lifts (open on Saturday from 10 am-4 pm).
• Wild Mountain: Three trails, three lifts.

Nevada

• Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe: Three trails, one lift.

Northeast

• Killington: Four trails, two lifts.

• Ski Ward: One trail, one lift (for private lessons only). Rail jam on Saturday.

Utah

• Solitude: One trail, one lift.

Image/Video Credits: Mammoth Mountain (Featured Image), Arapahoe Basin (Featured Image), Nakiska, Wolf Creek, Solitude Mountain Resort

This week could be the start of the ski season for the Golden State. Mammoth Mountain has been counting down the days on their socials until they open: November 10th. Across the border, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe just announced that they’ll be open on the 10th as well.

While it hasn’t been that snowy yet (outside of a small storm a couple of days ago), many ski resorts, like Palisades Tahoe, are still bracing up to open in the next couple of weeks. Here are the projected opening dates for California’s ski resorts, with the information provided by Ski California:

Bear Valley: November 17

Big Bear Mountain Resort (Bear Mountain): Mid-late November

Big Bear Mountain Resort (Snow Summit): Mid-late November

Big Bear Mountain Resort (Snow Valley): Mid-late November

Boreal / Woodward Tahoe: November 17

China Peak: November 17

Diamond Peak (In Nevada, but close to California border): December 7

Dodge Ridge: November 24

Granlibakken Tahoe: Opens: November 23 for sledding, December 15 for lifts

Heavenly Mountain Resort: November 17

Homewood Mountain Resort: Mid-December

June Mountain: December 26

Kingvale Resort: As soon as conditions permit

Kirkwood Mountain Resort: December 1

Mammoth Mountain: November 10

Mountain High: Mid-November

Mt. Baldy: Mid-November

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe (In Nevada, but is very close to the California state border): November 10

Mt. Shasta Ski Park: December 15

Northstar California: November 17

Palisades Tahoe: November 22

Sierra-at-Tahoe: December 2

Sky Tavern: December 13

Soda Springs: November 24

Sugar Bowl: November 24

Tahoe Donner: XC on Nov. 24; downhill opens as conditions permit

Image Credits: Mammoth Mountain (Featured & Header Image), Palisades Tahoe, Ski California

It’s officially the final boarding call at Mammoth Mountain. On Monday, Mammoth Mountain gave a lift and conditions report on its social media pages.

Currently, Mammoth has six ski trails open. In terms of lift operations, Broadway (1) has taken its final curtain call for the 2022-23 season. The Face Lift (3), Chair 23, and the Panorama Gondola are currently operating daily from 7:30 AM-12 PM. Due to the diminishing snowpack, no beginner terrain is available.

The most significant part of this post is that it officially confirms that Mammoth will be closing on August 6th. They originally had the closing day set for July 31st, but they announced on July 20th a season extension to this Sunday.

Sunday will feature a host of activities. They’ll be offering free stickers, coffee, juice, and donuts for guests that arrive early. After the lifts closed on Sunday, work will start on their offseason projects, including a new Canyon Express (16) chairlift. In addition, Mammoth’s bike park will be open daily from 9 AM-6 PM.

If Timberline Lodge makes it past Sunday, the Oregon ski resort will be the last outdoor lift-serviced ski resort open in the United States for the 2022-23 season.

Image Credits: Mammoth Mountain

The biggest spring skiing operation in the country right now is unsurprisingly Mammoth Mountain in California. Mammoth still has insane snow depths, with 142 inches at the Main Lodge, 175 inches at McCoy Station, and 195 inches at the Summit. With Memorial Day Weekend coming up, they’ve let people know what to expect.

From Friday through Memorial Day, they’ll have the following lifts open: Broadway (1), Stump Alley (2), Face Lift (3), Roller Coaster (4), High Five (5), Unbound (6), Chair 8, Cloud Nine (9), Gold Rush (10), Discovery (11), Chairs 12, 13, 14,  Eagle (15), Schoolyard (17), Chair 23 and the Upper and Lower Panorama Gondola. There will be limited services out of the Canyon & Eagle Lodges, which is due to the construction of a new high-speed six-pack chairlift.

The major event of the weekend will be the Mammoth Yacht Club. On Saturday, they’ll host their Second Annual Boat Races over at the Main Lodge, which will see participants race down in cardboard vessels. Other weekend activities will include snow tubing at McCoy Station and live music.

They also described their plan for operations following Memorial Day, where the lift operating hours will shift to 7:30 am-1 pm. The Broadway (1), Stump Alley (2), Face Lift (3), High Five (5), Unbound (6), Discovery (11), Chair 12 and 23 chairlifts will remain open. The Panoramic Gondola will be going through a summer maintenance project starting on May 30th. It is scheduled to reopen on June 17th. Mammoth is expected to remain open until at least the end of July.

The full details are below, which include a great photo from Peter Morning of the legendary Glen Plake.

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A post shared by Mammoth Mountain (@mammothmountain)

Image Credits: Robson Hatsukami Morgan, Mammoth Mountain, Peter Morning

If you’ve been wondering what the snow depths have been like during the 2022-23 season, this video from Mammoth Mountain gives you a great perspective. The video follows a snow groomer at Mammoth riding up the mountain as he captures snow depths along the way thanks to SNOWSat’s technology. He captures snow depths of over 500, 600, 700, and 800 inches of snow. The biggest depth he found was a mind-boggling 813″ of snow.

To explain how SNOWSat works, planes fly over Mammoth Mountain during the offseason to chart the ground. This helps to determine the exact elevations and topography for when the snow groomers are passing by during ski season. During the winter months, the difference that is measured with the SNOWSat technology helps determine the exact depth. You can learn more about SNOWSat here.

The video from Mammoth Mountain is below.

Image/Video Credits: Mammoth Mountain

It snowed quite a bit in California this winter. Monumental snowfall led to record-breaking totals at many California ski resorts. Unfortunately, the good times do have to come to an end eventually, and many ski resorts have closed for the season. Five ski resorts are hanging on though, and a few of them could be going deep into the summer.

If you’re looking to ski in California right now, the projected closing dates, and the details about their current operations, are below.

• Donner Ski Ranch: They’ll be open on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am-4 pm. Tickets are only $59.
• Kirkwood: Their closing date is May 14th. They’ll be open from 9 am-4 pm today, tomorrow, and Sunday. Lifts 5, 6, 10, and 11 will be spinning.
• Mammoth Mountain: This weekend, the Broadway (1), Stump Alley (2), Face Lift (3), Roller Coaster (4), High Five (5), Unbound (6), Cloud Nine (9), Gold Rush (10), Discovery (11), Chairs 12, 13, 14, Schoolyard (17), Chair 23, the Upper and Lower Panorama Gondola, and The Village Gondola lifts are open. Operations out of the Canyon Lodge are currently limited due to ongoing construction. They’ll be skiing out of the Main Lodge & The Mill daily through at least the end of July.
• Mt. Baldy: They are currently open Fridays-Sundays, with a closing date not yet announced.
• Palisades Tahoe: They will be open until July 4th. This month, Alpine Meadows will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Palisades will be closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Starting in June, only Alpine Meadows will be open for skiing/riding on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This is due to the Funitel project over at Palisades. The Aerial Tram will reopen for weekends in June and July for sightseeing, and the Village at Palisades Tahoe will be open daily.

Image Credits: Peter Morning/Mammoth Mountain (Featured image and photo above), Palisades Tahoe

Mammoth Mountain has been having a season for the history books. So far this year, the resort has received 616 inches of snowfall, making it one of the snowiest winters on record. The California ski area is known for having huge dumps, but this year it’s gone absolutely bonkers. As you can see in the photos, the chairlifts that are typically suspended high above the mountainside are now buried in the snowpack that has reached over 50 feet in places.

With more snow in the way and weeks of ski season still remaining, it’s hard to tell if the chair lives will be visible at all by the time the 2022/23 winter wraps up.

Photos courtesy of Mammoth Mountain

What a season it’s been for Mammoth Mountain.

The resort has been slammed by what seems like a never-ending series of monster storms, and there’s no end in sight.

After the most recent storm, Mammoth is officially reporting a seasonal total of 600 inches at the Main Lodge, and that’s a big deal.

Check out the video below announcing it:

Mammoth’s all-time record at the Main Lodge is 668 inches.

They’re still 68 inches away (that’s over 5.5 feet) shy, but it certainly seems feasible considering the way this season has been going.

It might even happen before the end of the month. OpenSnow is tracking multiple storms over the next 10 days that could deliver upwards of 50 inches.

Stay tuned here at Unofficial Networks for all updates about Mammoth’s record-season in the making. We’ve got you covered!

Featured/Header Image Credit: Mammoth Mountain

Did you know that ski resorts make up .01% of National Forest land? It’s one of many interesting tidbits of information from a recent video from National Park Diaries, which discusses the relationship between ski resorts and National Forests.

In the video, National Park Diaries dives into which major ski resorts are in national forests, the history between the two sides, the dual permit system, the impact of the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act, and the importance of passing the SHRED Act.

The video from National Park Diaries is below.

Image/Video Credits: Karsten Winegeart(Featured Image), Taylor Turtle, National Park Diaries